Oral care and oral hygiene is one of the most important things in a human's life. Everyday most people brush their teeth to keep themselves orally hygienic. Most people brush their teeth at least twice each day and sometimes even more than that. On the other hand due to lack of proper dental care a number of people suffer from inflammation in their gums which causes irritations and problems in their mouth.
Most commonly known oral care composition is toothpaste. People throughout the world use toothpaste for their oral health and hygiene. Toothpastes are available in many formats. The most common format is chalk based toothpaste formulations.
Efforts have been made to incorporate different plant extract and/or antibacterial agents in toothpaste compositions to fight against oral inflammation.
US2006/0140881 (COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY, 2006) discloses an oral care composition containing: a free-B-ring flavonoid and a flavan; as well as at least one bioavailability-enhancing agent. Methods of using the oral compositions are also provided.
US2006/0141072 (COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY, 2006) discloses low water tooth pastes which contain a variety of plant extracts. The oral or dentifrice compositions contain humectants, abrasive compounds, and a variety of plant extracts, such as rosemary and green tea extracts, along with an additional antioxidant component. Examples of antioxidants include stannous compounds, sodium meta-bisulfite, BHT, ammonium sulfate, and potassium stannate. The compositions are resistant to browning. The invention also provides methods for promoting the oral health of a subject animal comprising applying a composition as discussed above to the oral surfaces of the animal.
Catechins in general are known for their health benefits. In the world of tea, green tea is also well known for its health benefits. Green Tea catechins including Epigallocatechin, Epigallocatechin gallate etc are known to provide anti-inflammatory benefits. We have found that the catechins in general, such as those present in the green tea tend to darken the colour of the chalk based toothpaste due to its oxidation which happens at the high pH of the toothpaste. Once the catechins are oxidized and darken the colour of the toothpaste they are no longer available as such for providing anti-inflammatory benefits.
Therefore there is a need to develop an oral care composition which will use the benefits of catechins in a chalk based toothpaste formulation without substantially darkening the colour of the toothpaste.